Gordon Brown: I represented the UK at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) on 30 January 2007. The German Finance Minister, Peer Steinbruck, chaired the Council.
	German Presidency Work Programme
	Ministers took note of a presentation by the German presidency on its ECOFIN work programme for the next six months. The presidency noted that Europe continued to face major challenges, for example from globalisation. ECOFIN's work under the German presidency would reflect this, including through further integration of the internal market.
	The UK added its support and stressed the importance of promoting an open and flexible single market, as set out in the HMT-DTI paper onsingle market reform published on the same day. This paper stresses the need for a Single Market which allows European businesses to compete in global markets, while fostering innovation and market dynamism. A revised strategy should therefore focus on driving up competition and take prioritised action where the potential economic benefits are greatest, based on clear evidence, and use a wider range of policy tools to achieve a well-functioning single market. The UK also said that enhancing EU-US economic relations and tackling unfair tax competition had a part to play.
	Implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact
	Commissioner Almunia outlined the Commission's recommendation to abrogate France's excessive deficit procedure, as the deficit was now sustainably below3 per cent. Member states welcomed this recommendation and adopted a decision under article 104 (12) of the treaty abrogating decision 2003/487/EC on the existence of an excessive deficit in France.
	Convergence Reports by the Commission and the European Central Bank
	Ministers took note of a brief presentation by the Commission and the European Central Bank on the December 2006 convergence report on the member states (excluding Lithuania, Slovenia and Sweden) with a derogation from euro membership. The report concluded that the nine member states assessed did not fulfil all the convergence criteria, however the Commission noted significant progress was being made on inflation, fiscal stability and exchange rates.
	Current Status of Slovenia's Adoption of the Euro
	The Council was briefed by the Slovenian Finance Minister, Andrej Bajuk, the Commission and the European Central Bank on the introduction of the euro in Slovenia. The Commission applauded Slovenia's handling of the introduction of the euro.
	Preparation of the Spring European Council
	Ministers held an orientation debate on matters to feed into the spring European Council. This included the Commission annual progress report, the proposed update to the integrated guidelines with country specific recommendations and the draft ECOFIN key issues paper. Discussion centred on the ECOFIN priorities for the key issues paper, ahead of its formal adoption at the February ECOFIN.
	The UK stressed the importance of opening up product and capital markets, especially financial services, utilities and energy and in reducing regulation in line with the HMT-DTI Paper on single market reform mentioned earlier. The UK also added that, in the field of tax, tackling unfair tax competition was important in improving economic performance. The German presidency agreed to reflect on the discussion and will subsequently return to this topic at the February ECOFIN.
	Better Regulation
	The Commission presented a Communication and an action plan on efforts to reduce administrative burdens on businesses, which includes setting a target for reducing administrative burdens in the EU/The UK expressed the view that this was a key issue for the EU economic framework. Conclusions are expected to be adopted at the next ECOFIN Council meeting and will contribute to the spring European Council.

Phil Woolas: The general GLA grant for 2007-08 has been determined today by the Secretary for State for Communities and Local Government at £38,348,000, after consultation with the Mayor of London. The grant is a block grant paid for the purposes of the Greater London Authority and its functional bodies under section 100 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999.
	The grant for 2007-08 is based on the three-year settlement for the grant announced by the Government in November 2004 following the outcome of the 2004 Spending Review, together with additional funding for the Mayor's new housing responsibilities followingthe outcome of the review of the GLA's powers inJuly 2006.

Bridget Prentice: I am pleased to announce to the House the publication of my Department's response to the consultation on the Co-ordinated Online Record of Electors. CORE will provide a national source of locally collected and maintained electoral registration data.
	CORE will, in addition to reducing administrative burden on users, assist political parties and the Electoral Commission to meet their obligations under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 to ensure that donations to parties are from registered electors.It will also provide an important first step to systematically detecting any potential instances of absent voterfraud.
	The Electoral Administration Act 2006 makes provision for the establishment of one or more Co-ordinated Online Record of Elector (CORE) schemes. The scheme will shortly be established by a secondary legislation order, a draft of which would first need to be actively approved by both Houses of Parliament.
	The paper sets a clear vision for the operation of the CORE scheme and also highlights the importance of improving the quality of elector information held on local registers to ensure that it is complete and correct.
	Copies of the consultation response document are available in the Libraries of both Houses and will also be made available on the website of the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Harriet Harman: My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor made the following ministerial statement in the other place on Wednesday 7 February 2007.
	"I have today published the Government response to the consultation paper "Increasing penalties for deliberate and wilful misuse of personal data" (C/P 9/06) which was published on24 July 2006. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. It will also be made available on the Department for Constitutional Affairs' website.
	The response sets out how we will reform section 60 of the Data Protection Act 1998 to ensure that there is robust protection for personal data, and to strengthen individuals' rights to privacy.
	The consultation paper sought views on whether the proposed custodial penalties— a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment on summary conviction and two years on indictment—would act as an effective deterrent to those who deliberatelyor recklessly misuse personal information. The Information Commissioner's report "What Price Privacy?". The unlawful trade in confidential personal information highlighted the extent of the illegal trade in personal information and recommended custodial sentences for offences relating to the misuse of personal data. The Government believe that the existing financial penalties are not sufficiently protecting people's personal data.
	The consultation period closed on 30 October 2006. The majority of responses welcomed the introduction of custodial penalties to provide a larger deterrence to potential offenders, to provide public reassurance that offenders would receive the appropriate sentence and to achieve parity with a number of disparate pieces of legislation which, deal with similar types of offences.
	Our reforms to the Data Protection Act fit squarely within the Government's wider strategy on data sharing. As the Government move to an era of greater data sharing—to deliver better, more customer-focused services and to protect the security of both individuals and society as a whole—it is essential for people to be confident that their personal data will not be wilfully or recklessly abused.
	Greater data sharing and proper respect for individual privacy is compatible. One of the essential ways of maintaining that compatibility is to ensure the security and integrity of personal data once it has been shared.
	In summary, following careful consideration of the responses received, we are proceeding with the proposals to introduce custodial penalties to section 60 of the Data Protection Act. The Government are clear that custodial penalties will be reserved for the most serious breaches of the Act. We will seek to introduce an amendment to the Act as soon as parliamentary time allows."

Tony Blair: I am today announcing the re-appointment of the House of Lords Appointments Commission for a further 18 months, as from the beginning of this year, pending further discussions on House of Lords reform.
	The Commission's membership is unchanged. The Chairman is Lord Stevenson of Coddenham CBE,the Chairman of HBOS plc and a cross-bench peer in the House of Lords.
	The independent members are: Ms Angela Sarkis CBE, National Secretary of the YMCA England; and Mrs Felicity Huston, Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland and a tax consultant.
	In addition, there are also three party-political members who are each nominated by one of the three main political parties: the Labour Party member is the right hon. the Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde; the Conservative Party member is the right hon. the Lord Hurd of Westwell CH CBE; the Liberal Democrat member is the Lord Dholakia QBE DL.

Malcolm Wicks: The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has granted consents under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for the construction and operation of the gas generating station and wind farm that comprise the Ormonde project.
	The consents are being granted to Eclipse Energy Company Limited (EECL) and Ormonde Energy Limited (a majority owned subsidiary of EECL). This innovative hybrid project will be sited around 10 km from Walney Island and has the potential to generate a total of up to 200 MW of electricity, with around half coming from the wind farm.
	The decision to grant the consents was taken after a thorough consideration of the possible impacts of the project on a range of environmental and otherissues and interests and of the advice received from a range of stakeholders, including statutory consulters on navigation and nature conservation issues. The Secretary of State concluded that the impacts envisaged by those making representations will either be of low significance or can be mitigated or avoided by the use of suitable conditions in the Electricity Act consents or in the licence for the project that is to be issued by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985.
	The Secretary of State will, in due course, announce the outcome of an application for the grant of approval for the proposed Ormonde gas field development under the separate Petroleum Act 1998 regime, relating to the extraction of gas from the sea bed. Today's announcement does not pre-judge the outcome of that application.

Alistair Darling: The Government and Royal Mail have agreed to the financing framework following my statement of 18 May last year.
	The financing framework will provide Royal Mail with the ability to manage its pension deficit andinvest in modernisation to improve its performanceand efficiency. In addition to the loan facilities of£900 million and the transfer of £850 million of reserves into an escrow account to support the pension fund announced last year, we have also agreed to make an additional shareholder loan of £300 million available to the business to provide the company with adequate financial headroom. As with the proposed framework already announced, all financing for the Royal Mail will be on commercial terms. We plan to agree the final legal documentation and have these measures in place by 25 March 2007.
	We have also agreed with Royal Mail management a reward scheme that allows the employees to share in the value they help to create in the business as it improves its performance.
	Under this reward scheme the Government have agreed to the company providing employees with partnership units of a notional value equivalent to a20 per cent. economic interest in the projected equity value of the group in the ordinary course of business and based on the management's plan. This will allow employees to share fully in the value they help to create. In addition we have agreed to the replacement of the current and highly effective Share in Success programme with a new scheme. To provide adequate certainty for the public finances, while properly rewarding the efforts of Royal Mail employees, the partnership unit scheme will run for the duration of the Royal Mail Letters' transformation plan, up until March 2012. Employees can receive a maximum of £5,300 over the period.
	The scheme aligns employee, management and shareholder interests in making all parties committed to the successful performance of the business—this is the right approach in a fully competitive market.
	We fully support the business in delivering the programme of reform that it needs to undertake. We recognise that there a number of difficult changes that need to be made to the way the company operates, including limiting the pension liability going forward, and fully supports the business in making them. It is for the management and staff to make the changes necessary to give the company a sound platform on which to build for long-term success in a competitive market.

Anne McGuire: During Department for Work and Pensions oral questions on Monday 5 February, in response to a supplementary from the hon. Member for Leeds North West(Mr Mulholland), I said that 11.5 million pensioner households receive the winter fuel allowance every year and that the £200 winter fuel allowance—it is more than £300 if a person is over 80—is paid regularly to older people's household; Official Report, column 567. I should have said that 11.5 million winter fuel payments were made to over 8 million households in winter 2005-06 and I expect figures for this winter to be similar and that the winter fuel allowance is £300 if a person is over 80. I apologise to the hon. Gentleman for these inadvertent errors.